Don’t email your professor to ask whether they will excuse a particular absence. Most professors allow a certain number of absences without expecting an explanation. Beyond that, bringing unnecessary attention to your absence only wastes your and your professor’s time. We don’t want to hear about stomach bugs (or how many trips you made to the bathroom during the night), fights with roommates, or court appearances. We do, however, want to know about serious illnesses, deaths in the family, and other events in your life that cause hardship and affect your performance in our classes.

Don’t email your professor asking for notes or handouts that you have misplaced. If you miss class or lose your notes, contact your peers. Instead of emailing the professor, inform a friend in the class that you will need her to pick up any handouts and to note any changes to the syllabus that you will miss because of your absence.